DURHAM City Harrier Rosie Smith produced a blistering performance at the North-East Cross Country Championships at Town Moor, storming to an emphatic 72 second victory over her nearest rival. This was Smith’s fifth title at this event and based on this performance, it appears she is poised to achieve even greater feats in 2015.

Smith began running for the Durham City Harriers aged 11, following in the footsteps of her aunt and uncle who were already long term members.

Throughout her career, she has regularly competed in the North Eastern Championships. Smith credits these races as brilliant platforms for the high level fixtures she has participated in more recently, such as representing Scotland and GB in cross country, as well as competing in the European Championships in 2012.

At last weekend’s event, Smith was typically modest on her performance.

Smith said: “I didn’t really have a plan. I think it’s hard to plan for a race when you are unsure about what the standard of the field is like, who might be competing, as well as other factors.

“The course itself was a proper country course, incredibly tough and very muddy. There were also some brutal hills that I thought at one point I wouldn’t be able to get to the top of.

“Considering all of that, the best option, as always, was simply to just run the course as hard as I could.”

When asked if she slackened her pace when she realised she was leading by some margin, Smith reiterated her true professionalism. “It was nice being out in front but no, I didn’t stop pushing throughout the race,” she said. “I was not really focused on what was behind me therefore I kept up my pace. I mean, considering the difficulty of the course, you never know what can happen later in the race.”

Last Saturday’s meeting had been billed as the setting for a showdown between Smith and fellow GB internationals Laura Weightman (Morpeth) and Alyson Dixon (Sunderland Strollers). However, Weightman and Dixon were forced to withdraw before the race.

“It is always great to race international athletes and Laura and Alyson are really good runners,” Smith said. “However I’m not going to lie, it was very nice to win too.”

This victory suggests Smith is in fine form and she feels she is in a good place with her running at the moment. She said “I feel good, a bit up and down but generally good. I have gained a few PBs at 10K recently which has been brilliant. However touch wood I don’t get any injuries.”

Smith has a busy 2015 ahead of her. She intends to compete in the Northern, Scottish and National Cross Country Championships. Smith advocates the value of training, but she believes this does not solely need to be restricted to running.

She said: “I’m a big believer in cross training. Obviously doing sessions with the coaches on technique and building up your race speed and stamina is very important, but it is also nice to do other sports.

It is nice to experience these other sports, not only because it improves general fitness but because it’s fun. I do a lot of swimming and I find it is helpful for injury prevention.”

Smith is also passionate in her support for Durham City Harriers. She was not the only member to gain some glory at Town Moor.

Her younger teammate Lydia Sharp also won the 17-19 Women’s Race, along with strong performances from the Senior Men and the junior teams.

“It’s brilliant to see the youngsters coming through,” Rosie said. “I don’t want to name names in case I miss anyone out but there are some juniors that are performing really well. It’s great to see that the coaches are getting them involved in races and coaching them so well”.

Smith went on to laud the hard work carried out each week on the field and on the track by coaches Bryan Mckay, Peter Hemmings, Mike Toogood, Max Coleby and all of the volunteers that assist with the sessions.

“The club is fantastic. The numbers and range of people participating is incredible. There are local young people, Durham students and older athletes all training and competing alongside each other.

“It has built a great sense of team camaraderie within the club, creating a really nice social atmosphere”. With these foundations, it seems that the Harriers will continue to flourish.

When finally asked whether she would be taking a break from training to enjoy the Christmas festivities, Smith was once again very honest. “With two weeks off work, it gives me an ideal time to be training for future races. However, of course I will be making sure I enjoy Christmas as well.”